Masamichi Kagaya, “Autoradiograph – Works of Nuclear God – ”

Masamichi Kagaya, “Autoradiograph – Works of Nuclear God – ”

Masamichi Kagaya will present “Autoradiograph – Works of Nuclear God – ” at the Spéos Gallery, 7 rue Jules Vallès 75011 Paris, from 13th November 2017 to 8th January 2018.

Opening of the exhibition: 14th November, from 7pm to 9pm.

In 2011, huge amounts of radioactive particles were released into the air from a nuclear power plant in Japan. The radioactive contamination continues to be hotly debated throughout Japan and is a recurring topic in the media. And yet, very few have taken on the task of capturing visual images of the harmful radiation for the public to see.

Masamichi Kagaya and Dr. Satoshi Mori (the University of Tokyo) decided to leave behind as many visual records of the contamination from the Fukushima nuclear disaster as possible. The present exhibition will be the first of its kind in France for the broad public to discover recent radioactive contamination. Its technique Autoradiograph is quite a significant means for journalists and scientists to present and research radioactive contamination as such.

Above all, these works are a message from Japan, who experienced a series of nuclear catastrophes in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bikini and most recently Fukushima.

After his first long-term photo project in France, Masamichi started a second photo project “Autoradiograph” with the cooperation of the University of Tokyo. Masamichi and Professor Mori have captured more than 300 images in the past six years and published a book Autoradiograph in Japan (2015).

More than 25 exhibitions of their work have been held in Japan, Canada and France in addition to the FORMAT International Photography Festival in Derby, England and Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria in 2017. Their project won FUJIFILM AWARD in Kyotographie portfolio review in 2017 and Honorary Mentions in Prix Ars Electronica 2017.

Their work has appeared in more than 15 newspapers and magazines in Japan and abroad. Masamichi developed a 3D autoradiograph at the end of 2016 and his technique can be applied to a wide range of samples.